30 years ago this week, I put together about 20 people in a small coffee shop in Arcadia, California for the very first meeting of BNI. The organization was run from a small bedroom which was converted into an office inside my house in La Verne, California.

I am humbled by the fact that today the organization has over 7,000 chapters in 60 countries with over 170,000 members world-wide. In addition we have over 30 BNI staff at HQ and more than 3,000 BNI Directors and Director Consultants working for the organization!

You have helped to change people’s lives world-wide. We, as an organization, have helped generate billions of US dollars in business for our members around the world. Not in my wildest imagination would I have envisioned this when I started this little enterprise 30 years ago today.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your contribution to this organization. You are helping make a difference for many people around the world.